Quilt of the country Flashcards
disparate
essentially different in kind
fragmentation
discordant
unrelated; out of place
fragmentation
pluralistic
having multiple parts or aspects
fragmentation
interwoven
intermingled; combined
unity
diversity
variety of different ethic or cultural groups
fragmentation
coalescing
coming together in one body or place
unity
According to “A Quilt of a Country,” how is the United States similar to a quilt?
It is intended for all people, no matter their nationality, ethnicity, or religion.
What is meant by “ America is an improbable idea”?
It reflects how America is united despite its many ethnic groups.
That’s because [the United States] was built of bits and pieces that seem discordant, like the crazy quilts that have been one of its great folk-art forms, velvet and calico and checks and brocades.”
in this sentence, what difficulty or contradiction in American identity does the comparison of the quilt most clearly help Quindlen capture?
Because the pieces that are united in a quilt can be dramatically different, the comparison captures both the diversity and unity of the United States.
According to the Mario Cuomo conundrum, what ideals are in “constant conflict” in the United States?
Community and individualism
Which of the following is the effect that Quindlen creates by repeating the word enormous in this sentence from “A Quilt of a Country”?
Perhaps they understand it at this moment, when enormous tragedy, as it so often does, demands a time of reflection on enormous blessings.
The effect is to help the reader shift from one idea, tragedy, to its opposite, blessings.
In “A Quilt of a Country,” what point is the author making when she discusses her father’s old neighborhood in Philadelphia, “in which Jewish boys would walk several blocks out of their way to avoid the Irish divide of Chester Avenue”?
Conflicts and divisions between immigrant groups have appeared throughout history.
According to Quindlen, how have people’s attitudes about her being a product of a mixed marriage changed over time?
before: it was incendiary;
nowadays: it is quaint
I was the product of a mixed marriage, across barely bridgeable lines: an Italian girl, an Irish boy. How quaint it seems now, how incendiary then.
In what way does this quotation most clearly help the author meet her purpose in writing?
It uses her own experience to illustrate a key point about American identity.
According to Quindlen, other countries often handled deep ethnic division by:
dividing into nations with new names
